The Weaving of a Legend
by Priestess Mayumi
Summary: The dreaded Baron Harkonnen had his own reasons to hate House Atreides and the Bene Gesserit...and at the center of most of them is a young Bene Gesserit who chose to defy tradition.
1. Chapter 1

Notes:

I do not own the novel Dune (shocker, I know)

This was a school project, so bear with it.

Some events contridict what happens in the actual Dune prequels, but having not read them I don't care. This is what I would have had happen.

Comment and enjoy!!

The Weaving of a Destiny

Chapter One:

Young Vladimir Harkonnen straightened in his chair, rearranging the embossed silk of his robe. How he was dreading the formal dinner party tonight! All those people…being expected to make "small talk"…it was not his way. For all his lavish tastes and extravagant likes in entertainment, he was very much a private man. Wasn't that the way he had been taught? That showing your true self was a sign of weakness?

"Please, na-Baron, your father will not be pleased to see your robes wrinkled by your slouching."

The ringing voice of Vodir, his father's Mentat, pierced through his brain. Vladimir didn't understand however his father, Baron Harkonnen, got along with Vodir. While his father was a cold, haughty, and rash man with an uncontrollable temper, the Mentat, though calculating, always had a thoughtful air about him and was the one, however small, source of kindness in the na-Baron's life.

"You're the intelligent one here Vodir, so perhaps you could explain to me why I must constantly be subjected to this public display of utter fraud and incompetence."

Though it might have been a trick of the light, Vladimir thought he saw a faint smile rise to the Mentat's face. "You already know the reason, na-Baron. To keep up appearances and reassure that your people are confident in your future leadership."

"My _people_? I don't have any _people._" The very thought appalled him. Shouldn't he have a choice whether or not he had the troubles of an entire group simply thrust upon him? He swore under his breath so that Vodir wouldn't hear…he thought it a dirty habit. Perhaps it was.

"Begging your pardon, na-Baron, but it won't always be that way. Now, you really _should_ get ready. You do remember what happened last time you were late to one of these 'public displays of utter fraud and incompetence', I presume?"

It was Vladimir's turn to smirk. "I remember." And it was a bitter memory, to be sure.

"Well, I'm sure we wouldn't want that to happen again. You know the saying, 'the only reason to remember the holes of a road is to be able to avoid them in the future'."

Vladimir groaned. "No! Not more 'sayings', Mentat. You're starting to sound like a Bene Gesserit witch."

"Funny thing you should mention the Bene Gesserit. I hear there will be a group of them at the dinner tonight."

Bile built up in Vladimir's throat. He had heard enough stories of the Bene Gesserit witches to make him despise their very presence. Why had his father invited them? Though a power-hungry old man, the Baron had no great love for these witches either. What had prompted him to do such a thing?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

"Remember, wench, not to talk any more than necessary."

Those words were all Mirylnn had heard all night. All week. Every week for months to be exact. It surprised her that these dinner parties were organized so far in advance, but such were the lives of these extravagant Harkonnens.

During those long months, her usual training had come to a complete halt…replaced with things that were quite foreign. The one thing in her training that had not been brought to an end was her Voice training. In fact, this was the thing that preoccupied her time: practicing heaping layer upon layer of _mesmer _into her voice. Usually, such rigid training was only given to a Bene Gesserit who was going to be extracting the truth from someone. But that was not her fate.

She was being trained to seduce a man…a Harkonnen…the na-Baron.

She had tried to be angry with her teachers for using her as such a pawn: a person to be used and discarded without a second thought. It filled her with bitterness. Her bitterness had been severely punished. Not with pain, though that would have been generous. The Bene Gesserit rarely used pain as a punishment, and that was what made them so dangerous.

They used words instead.

When they weren't telling her to shut her mouth, they had been drumming the Creed into her, beating her with it as they would with a stick.

"I am Bene Gesserit: I exist only to serve."

Now, standing in the formal reception chamber, she recited those words over and over, whether like a talisman or a curse she couldn't tell.

"I am Bene Gesserit: I exist only to serve."

She stood side by side with the Reverend Mother and another acolyte, Fariah. Coldness radiated from both women. Fariah and Mirylnn had been rivals ever since childhood, and when Mirylnn had been chosen for this mission, Fariah's jealousy had reached the boiling point. At first, Mirylnn didn't understand why Fariah hated her so. The other Bene Gesserit was much older and more talented. She was being specifically trained for a Great House.

Mirylnn had come by the knowledge quite by accident. It was evident the Reverend Mother had been intent on keeping their selective breeding project as secret. But as the truth donned on her, the reason for all the dirty glares she had been getting lately came to light.

She had been chosen to be a part of the breeding line for the Kwisatz Haderach!

She was curious as to why, but she didn't dare ask, for the Reverend Mother would know instantly that Mirylnn had discovered their mission to produce the male Bene Gesserit, so she kept quiet.

"I am Bene Gesserit: I exist only to serve."

She also understood the reason why the Reverend Mother had been so adamant on her keeping silent. Even the younger acolytes knew that they were rarely ever allowed to become attached to their breeding partners if they _were_ that man's woman. Obviously, this situation did not call for an epic romance, but for a single night's passion before the na-Baron forgot her existence forever.

Good. She wanted him to forget her. Completely.

The Emperor's Truthsayer had arranged this meeting as a personal favor. The Baron wouldn't be able to refuse Imperial guests. Such was the power the Bene Gesserit held. They were the only ones who knew that the men, including the Emperor, were not the ones who held the power.

There was a noise at the door, and everyone stood for the entrance of the Baron and na-Baron. She thought herself prepared to entrance this Harkonnen beast.

What she was not prepared for were the crackling coal eyes that looked up jerkily and locked firmly with hers.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

And so, he watched her.

The moment he had entered the room, he had prepared to meet with the Bene Gesserit witches of legend: old, shriveled, gray-haired and toothless. He had not, however, expected this…woman. Young, very young, a child really. Her face betrayed youth, but her eyes gave him the feeling that she carried wisdom and sadness beyond her few years. She could not be much older than twenty.

He looked away from her, ashamed. Though in the traditions of his family he was relatively young and certain family traits certainly made him appear more youthful than he actually was, to her he would seem ancient.

Many times during the dinner, Vodir would look up at Vladimir with a distasteful look and shake his head slightly or cough. Vladimir knew in the back of his mind that the attention he paid to the young Bene Gesserit (he had not been given her name) was inappropriate and indiscreet, but he didn't care. He only had eyes for her.

Apart from her, the dinner was as dreadful as he had anticipated. His father and the other nobles droning on and on about fiefdoms and spice and Guild Wars and…Luckily his father was too engaged in his "ruler talk" and too entranced by the imported wines to even notice his son's infatuation. If not, there would have been much blood tonight for the young na-Baron.

He barely noticed the other guests. A bunch of turned-nose nobles of the varying Great and Lesser Houses. He did, however, spend a moment to evaluate the young woman's traveling companions.

The first one, who perfectly matched his preconceived notions of a Bene Gesserit witch, was almost certainly the Reverend Mother and the Emperor's Truthsayer. The first, younger, about twenty-seven had dull blond hair and mud brown eyes. Though some might find her a handsome girl, he had no eyes for her.

As he scanned the table once or twice, he did notice someone besides Vodir watching the by-play between him and the Bene Gesserit. A young boy of about thirteen…what had his name been? Oh yes! Leto. Leto Artreides. He was here with his father, Duke Artreides. The Artreides family had ruled over Caladan for some years and right now the Harkonnens and the Artreides were walking a thin line between neutralism and war. Sensing, again, the boy's eyes on him, Vladimir looked up and glared threateningly at him. Instinctively, as though he had been taught that to anger a Harkonnen meant a full-scale confrontation, Leto dropped his eyes to his lap and Vladimir forgot him completely.

He could not wait for his torture to end. When his father invited the men into the parlor for a drink, signaling the end of the meal, Vladimir almost threw back his chair and ran from the room. Outside the dining hall he gasped for air, as though the flowing words of the polite conversations had been the waves of a thundering ocean and he had just broken the surface after being pulled under by the pounding surf. He needed to collect his thoughts. Slowly, as though it made perfect sense where and why he was walking, he strode calmly outside onto the terrace. Looking up into the night sky, dazzled with a quilt of glittering pinpricks, he wondered, "Is this really my future?" Lost in thought, he didn't notice that he was not alone.

A young girl was sitting in the moonlight, her head bathed in its silvery rays, accentuating her oaken hair. About to try to make some stiff excuse to her, he stopped when she turned her head and stared knowingly at…no…into him with the biggest aspen eyes he had ever seen.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

"Bear him a daughter. _Only_ a daughter." That too had been drummed into her.

She stared at him, across the garden. She had felt the unease in him during dinnertime, and had planted in him the desire to come here. It was the most secluded place for their…purpose. Taking what she hoped was an unnoticeable gulp of air, she lowered her voice persuasively. "na-Baron Vladimir".

He paused for a moment, then offered hesitantly. "Who are you, Bene Gesserit?"

Giving him a lilting laugh, she answered, "You have answered your own question, na-Baron." She was deliberately playing with him. She knew he had asked for her name…but she couldn't. Giving him her name would bind her to him, at least in the BG's eyes.

Stumbling over his next words, he said, "I'm…sorry to have disturbed you."

"Oh, no! It seems to be _I _who have disturbed _you_. You clearly wanted to be alone."

It was evident in the way he shifted while she spoke that he had wished that, but his mind was now changed. "I was just…watching the stars. They remind me how small and insignificant we all are."

"'Stars are holes in the veil between us and the outer world'." Mirylnn almost gasped. What had possessed her to recite her favorite quote from the O.C. Bible? Hadn't she been told to say as little as possible?

The na-Baron, too, appeared thrown off. She realized that she had spoken truly, in her natural voice. She hadn't meant too…it had just happened.

"I never thought about it that way, Bene Gesserit."

Mirylnn silently cursed. She was ruining it! She was supposed to be absolutely silent, and then go up to him, press himself against him, and murmur to him in the Voice. One thing her superiors hadn't counted on was…this strange feeling that felt like a fire burning in her heart.

"There are many mysteries of the universe. Man already knows the answers, he needs but to find it in himself."

"But as our youth are taught, our job as humans is to confront the possible with the actual."

"Yes, but it is a Bene Gesserit saying that 'the eternal is hidden within us, without which he cannot find the pattern of the world from beginning to end'."

The strange look was there again. Staring at her with those large, black eyes, he repeated, "Who are you, Bene Gesserit?"

And, as easily as she had lowered her Voice, the words slipped out. "I am Mirylnn."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

And so he had tried to forget her for months, but he could not. After she told him her name, it was as though some binding oath had been sealed. He had taken her to one of the darkest recesses of the garden and they had…

He shivered. If his father knew, he would be doomed.

An hour later, the couple emerged disheveled and wet from lying on the damp grass. He tried to lean over to her to taste her lips again, but this time she had shrank away from his touch.

"What is it Lady Mirylnn?"

"Simply let me go." She spoke firmly, though there was a hint of reluctance in her voice.

Stepping away from her, abashed, he questioned, "What's wrong? When may I see you again?"

"Never."

"Never?" The words came as a shock, and suddenly the blood rose to his face in anger. "You seduced me, is that it? You decided to be all coy and feminine and have a one-night stand with the Harkonnen na-Baron? That's really funny! What kind of…"

Suddenly, those green eyes locked with his. "I know it seems that way," she spoke levelly, "but it's not what you think."

His words died in his throat. "Then, what is it?"

She started to blink rapidly, though he didn't understand why, and replied softly, "I am Bene Gesserit: I exist only to serve."

For months those words had echoed in his mind as he tried to figure them out. Had she been forced to lie with him? If she had, why did she seem so sincere? Could it be that she had loved him in spite of her orders? Surely not! That was not the Bene Gesserit way.

He had tried to find her. He had sent spies to their schools to search their records. They could never find anyone named Mirylnn. It was though she had been erased from history. There were times when he wondered if she had been real, or if she was just part of that foggy night and had melted at sunrise with the fading mist.

Vodir had noticed a change in him, but Vladimir could tell the Mentat was puzzled by his strange behavior. His whole life, Vladimir had never had any motivation. He had never been driven by anything. Now, he realized his passion was destroying him.

He tried to block her out of his mind, but every time he heard the term 'Bene Gesserit', his thoughts turned to Mirylnn. Where was she?


	6. Chapter 6

Warning: If you're like me, this chapter will make you absolutely HATE the Bene Gesserit.

Chapter Six:

When they placed the child in her arms, Mirylnn was surprised to see how light her daughter was. She was so frail, so…insubstantial.

Mirylnn smiled, but it was a sad smile. She was glad to have her daughter…but all this time her thoughts had been on the na-Baron. Could it be that she had actually…

No! She purged those treacherous thoughts from her mind.

"Thank you." She directed these words toward the midwife.

"You're welcome, Lady Himena."

_Himena_. The name was so foreign to her. The first day the Harkonnen spies were found in the Record Hall, Reverend Mother had instantly known. She had strode purposefully and contained to Mirylnn's chamber and demanded.

"Your _name_!" You told him your name, didn't you!"

It would have done no good to deny it. Both the Reverend Mother and Mirylnn knew that. After a hard scolding, they had taken Mirylnn's name from every record and census in the Bene Gesserit books. She was now Himena.

It heartened her somewhat to know that he…Vladimir…had been searching for her. But she had silently begged him to stop, for her sake as well as his.

The child's breathing was so quiet; it lulled Mirylnn into a feeling of peace.

A knocking on the door gave the serenity a jolt. Without waiting for a reply, the door opened and the Reverend Mother entered the room, followed by a nurse.

"So, you did bear a daughter, as instructed?"

"Yes, your Reverence."

"Well, at least your mission wasn't a total failure." The words were not harsh, just matter-of-fact. "Any matter, you have the daughter. We will take her now." The nurse that had accompanied her stepped forward to claim the child.

Mirylnn's grasp on her daughter tightened and realization dawned in her mind. She had known for a long time that her child was to be given to the sisters to be trained, but the implications had never really occurred to her. That was why, after that night with the na-Baron, Fariah had whispered to her, "Cherish this moment." Fariah had realized what Mirylnn had not at the time. She had fallen in love with the na-Baron, but had been stripped of her name and would never see him again. She had born a child, the grandmother of the Kwisatz Haderach, but the child would never be hers. She would not even get to name it: to do so would be forming a link to the child.

"Give us the child Himena."

Not responding, thinking only of her little daughter, she looked away as though she had not heard. Then, she realized that she couldn't win. They would push her and push her until she gave in. Nothing would work. With a heavy heart, she lifted the child from her breast and handed it to the nurse, who quickly left as though the weak Mirylnn would jump up and fight her for control of the baby.

Looking at her with disapproving eyes, the Reverend Mother questioned, "What is the Creed, Himena?"

"I…am Bene Gesserit: I exist only to serve."


	7. Chapter 7

Another warning: If you're like me, this chapter will make you hate Leto Artreides and feel sorry for the Baron. I actually do really like the Duke in real life, so don't get offended...I just needed to add some drama.

Chapter Seven:

The argument was heated. Only moments ago, the Emperor had declared that the planet of Arrakis be passed to the control of the Harkonnens. He had then left Vladimir's father, Baron Harkonnen, and that Caladan duke Artreides, accompanied by his son Leto, to quarrel amongst themselves.

Vladimir had been listening to a lecture by his father earlier. Arrakis was the only planet in the universe known to contain the spice, melange. The spice was addicting and provided longevity. Thus, whoever contained Arrakis controlled the spice. "And whoever controls the spice," his father had said, "controls the entire universe. As long as one has the spice in his possession, no one would dare oppose him. Once a man has tasted the spice, he would sell his soul to his worst enemy to obtain more."

Vladimir thought such a power very dangerous. Apparently, so had House Artreides. They had fought with the Emperor for Arrakis's control. Vladimir knew why the Emperor had rejected their arguments in the end. The Emperor liked to see the Great Houses pitted mercilessly against each other, and since he would never oppose one House or another himself, he got the other Houses to do it for him.

Suddenly, the argument became lethal and the Baron jumped to his feet bellowing, "I call thee out, Artreides!"

The duke also leaped to his feet and the fight commenced. It was a fierce battle; no rules of honor mattered here. Duke Artreides and Baron Harkonnen were equally matched fighters and neither, though their swords were undoubtedly filled with poison, could strike each other.

Suddenly, the Baron, the elder of the too, stumbled and Vladimir gasped in shock. He had known his father was old and incapable of many things that were easy in his youth, but it frightened him to see his father thus.

Taking the opportunity, Duke Artreides thrust away the Baron's blade and forced him to the ground. "Surrender Harkonnen!"

Filled with loyalty to his father, Vladimir Harkonnen pulled his own blade from his blade and slipped it forcefully under the Duke's. The two men, now filled with anger, danced around the room in a fury of sweat and steel. The younger Vladimir easily reached up and stabbed the Duke through the shoulder. Poised, he was perfectly ready to kill the old man. In the instant before he did, however, he looked up and saw hate, far beyond his young years, in Leto Artreides's eyes. The young man pulled out his own short knife, edge glistening with poison, and raged toward the na-Baron.

Vladimir heard the dagger whistle through the air and waited for its sting. It never came. A dark shadow passed in front of him, and he half-consciously saw a form fall lifeless before him.

Dropping to his knees, Vladimir stifled a cry of shock. It was Vodir; the old man had sacrificed himself to save him. A strange light burned in the Mentat's eyes.

"Vodir! I…why…you…"

"na-Baron, no questions please. They are past us now." Chuckling, he added, "You know the saying, 'to live is to die; to die is…to l-l-live." Hissing out the last syllable, the Mentat died.

Lying on the cold floor, Vladimir Harkonnen died as well. A different, harder man entered his body. This future Baron Harkonnen had a heart as cold as ice. Yes, Arrakis would be his. He would gain control of the spice…and the universe. The Artreides would suffer…oh how they would suffer! He grimaced. The Bene Gesserit witches, too, would pay. Finally, he understood why Mirylnn had started blinking rapidly when they parted.

She had been trying to keep the tears from spilling out.


	8. Chapter 8

Hah! Mirylnn/Himena finally gets even!

Chapter Eight:

Mirylnn scrutinized the cup of wine. Her sharply trained eyes picked up the irregularities in the liquid, confirming her suspicions.

It was poisoned. And she had no doubt that her poisoner was Fariah. Even when Mirylnn had lost everything she held dear, Fariah still held a burning desire to see her dead.

It would be so easy to throw the wine into the fire. Or, even better, to have the poison traced to Fariah. Then the woman would be out or her hair for good.

Somehow, she couldn't do it.

She thought of the na-Baron. She had heard that his father's Mentat had died. For that she was sorry. Though their meeting had been brief, she had taken to the old man. She could tell that Vladimir had felt the same. She wished she could go to him, put her arms around him and assure him that things would be all right. She wished that she could go to her little daughter, wherever she was, and assure her of the same thing.

The problem was, she didn't even believe that anymore.

She could barely remember her daughter, but she remembered the girl had had copper hair: the color Mirylnn's own oaken hair tinted by the shade of na-Baron's. And while her daughter had also had green eyes, they crackled like his had.

She wanted to go, to be with him. She realized she was breaking an important Bene Gesserit rule: 'never speak or wish for things that are not".

Walking to the fire, she watched its golden-red hues dance back and forth, glittering in the darkness.

"I am Bene Gesserit: I exist only to serve."

As she raised her hand to throw the liquid in, a thought came to her mind. I have not done much with my life. I have not done anything than what I have been told. Lowering her arm, she made up her new Creed, running it through her mind.

"I am _Mirylnn_, not 'Bene Gesserit' and not 'Himena': I _die_ only to serve _myself_!"

Smiling as the last pools of light from the fire washed over her aspen eyes, she raised the tainted wine to her lips and, independent of the whole Bene Gesserit clan, drank.

_As St. Alia-of-the-Knife plunged the gom jabber into Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, she whispered a word that stopped his heart even before the needle could do its work, "grandfather". In that moment, the Baron realized that Lady Jessica, one of his greatest enemies and wife of Duke Leto (an even greater opponent), was his daughter…and the daughter of the Bene Gesserit who he had cared for. It has been said that with his strength, he could have possibly lived a minute more if not for this realization._

_"The Baron's Demise" by Princess Irulan_


End file.
